Cargo ship ‘hit by projectile’ as Iran and US argue over talks

A cargo ship has reported being hit by a projectile off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz while the United States and Iran made opposing claims about whether they are holding talks.

US President Donald Trump said the two sides are resuming talks to wind down the war but Iran insisted it was only talking to Oman and the discussion focused on the Strait of Hormuz.

The cargo ship reported being “hit by an unknown projectile” at 2 am local time while it was 23 miles north east of Al Khasab in Oman, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said.

The UKMTO did not provide further information on the ship, including what flag the vessel was sailing under or whether it was carrying cargo.

The town of Al Khasab sits on the tip of the Arabian Peninsula that juts into the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas passed before the war.

The strait has been effectively shut by Iran’s attacks on shipping since the start of the war in February while the US has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports in the waterway.

Mr Trump said on Monday that talks with Iran had resumed, a day after saying he called of massive strikes he had threatened to unleash on the country. Mr Trump said he pulled back at the urging of Gulf allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Whether “Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking”, Mr Trump maintained.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said on Monday that no negotiations were being held with the US, adding that Tehran’s talks were only with Oman and focused on establishing a route for safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

Mr Trump voiced frustration with Iran, suggesting Tehran had asked for the talks, which are critical to ending the months-long conflict and reviving stalled cargo traffic through the strait.

“Iranian Leadership is unbelievably duplicitous!” the US president vented on Truth Social, his social media platform.

“They ask for a meeting, some would say ‘beg’, talks begin, with more scheduled in the immediate future, and they say, openly and proudly, that they’re not having any discussions, that nothing is being talked about, and they’re only dealing with ‘Oman’,” he wrote.